1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to aircraft and, in particular, to manufacturing aircraft. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for a positioning system for electromagnetic riveting.
2. Background
In manufacturing structures, different parts may be connected to each other to form the structures. Aircraft structures may include, for example, without limitation, a wing and a fuselage of an aircraft. These and other aircraft structures may be manufactured by attaching parts to each other to form aircraft assemblies.
For example, without limitation, skin panels may be placed onto frames and stringers to form a fuselage. Skin panels also may be attached onto spars and ribs to form a wing for the aircraft. These skin panels and structural elements form an exterior surface for the aircraft.
When joining panels of a fuselage together, one skin panel may be positioned to overlap with another skin panel and may be secured to each other using fasteners to form a joint between the skin panels. This joint may be commonly referred to as a lap joint. The fasteners used to form the joint may take the form of rivets.
In some instances, several rows of rivets may be used to attach one skin panel to another skin panel. Additionally, longitudinal stringers may be positioned along the joint and may be secured to the panels with a row of rivets.
The attachment of fuselage skin panels and other parts to each other, as well as other operations, may be performed in a number of different ways. For example, without limitations, human operators or computer-controlled machines may perform these operations. With human operators, two operators may be located opposite to each other on a workpiece, such as a group of skin panels for the fuselage. The operators may install clamping devices to hold the skin panels together. Thereafter, a drill may be used by one of the operators to create a hole. A rivet or other type of fastener may then be installed into the hole.
Large computer-controlled machines also may be used to drill holes and install rivets to fasten the parts to each other. In some cases, an electromagnetic tool may be used to clamp panels together and install rivets in a desired manner. With electromagnetic riveting, an electromagnetic unit may engage magnetic material on the panels and provide force to hold the panels in a desired position.
When attaching skin panels and other aircraft structures to one another, maintaining desired dimensions, positions, and configurations of the structures may be desired. For instance, positioning systems may be installed between stringers and frames to hold these structures in a desired position. These positioning systems may include a backing plate to hold structures during operation of the riveting tool. These positioning systems also may guide the riveting tool to drill holes and place rivets in a desired manner.
In some cases, however, maintaining the desired positions and configurations of structures relative to one another using positioning systems may be more difficult, costly, or time-consuming than desired. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus that take into account at least some of the issues discussed above, as well as other possible issues.